Is Omer al Bashir the victim or the victimizer?

By Justin Ambago Ramba

March 8, 2009 — Let us go straight to the point as the whole world is now caught up in the discussion as to whether Omer al Bashir is the victim of a political set by the western governments or is it true that, the Sudanese President is actually responsible for the crimes committed in Darfur.

Why do I think that al Bashir is indeed a criminal?

To the best of my knowledge, since this very al Bashir was brought to power by his ex-mentor al Turabi on 31st June 1989, this commander in chief of the Sudanese armed forces has been responsible for the deaths of no less than 2.5 million and the displacement of 4.4 million as a result of the Islamic Jihad that he spearheaded against the predominantly Christian and the other people of the Traditional African Faiths in south Sudan.

It should be recalled that while al Bashir was negotiating peace with the southern freedom fighters of the SPLM/A under the late Dr. John Garang de Mobior that brought about the CPA in 2005, he (al Bashir) was also at the same time (2003) intensifying his racially motivated fight in the western province of Darfur against the black African tribes of the Fur, Zaghawa and the Masalit. To me the game is clear; al Bashir was playing one conflict against the other in order to buy time.

Records now tell us that President al Bashir after signing a peace agreement with the south, went on to kill more than 300,000 and displaced no less than 2.7 civilians in Darfur region. And under his direct responsibility the Sudan Armed Force (SAF) and the Arab Janjaweed militias are up to the moment continuing to burn villages, rape women, torture and kill black African civilians.

Now, by throwing out a dozen of the international NGO’s from this war ravaged region, al Bashir has again shown to the UNSC that his campaign of genocide in Darfur is actually meant to move on and even at a faster rate than ever before by depriving the Darfuris who entirely depend on these NGO’s for their food, basic health services and water.

Why is al Bashir’s arrest warrant not accepted in other parts of the world?

Russia, China, member countries of the African Union (Eritrea, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, and so on), members of the Arab League countries (Egypt, Libya, Syria ……) and member countries of the Islamic Conference (Iran, Turkey, Malaysia …..), these are countries where similar crimes have been committed and as such they have every reason to be disturbed by the ICC indictment of al Bashir on the 4th of March 2009 as this very fate may be awaiting them sooner or latter.

Some traditional enemies and rivals of the western governments have also decided to use the current developments to boost up their deeply seated dislike for the USA, and its European allies. These mainly Arab and Islamic governments are now trying to steal the platform, by diverting the regional attention away from the sufferings of the people of Darfur which has been going for half a decade . They now want to make it all look like a confrontation between Arabs and Muslims on one side and the west on the other side, forgetting the truth of the matter, and that is Darfuris are Muslims who are being killed by fellow Muslims.

But however this being the first indictment of a sitting head of a state and obviously something feared by the other dictators worldwide, we still hope that it will offer the way forward to ending the impunity used to be enjoyed by those rogue leaders and their tyrant regimes , first in Sudan (Darfur) then all over the world.

The Arabs and THE Muslims positions on the Darfuri Issue.

The Egyptian position on Darfur remains within Egypt’s regional interest in the Sudan and it has always maintained its support to the subsequent governments in Khartoum at the expense of the broader picture of the real situations on the ground and also by not condemning al Bashir’s six years of brutal and inhumane actions in Darfur highlights the naked fact that the Arab to Arab sympathy has come to dominate the Egyptian diplomacy towards the Sudan.

Again by rallying the AU an the Arab League behind al Bashir, Egypt is only doing what it can do in order to appear as if it is a regional power .yet whatsoever it does at this moment , is already late because al Bashir has already been declared an official fugitive until he faces trial in The Hague. At the same time all the evidences show that the more al Bashir remains defiant of the court’s decision , the less he can ever sort out his current mess.

As for Libya, Ghadafi has always looked at Darfur and Chad as its natural out reach into the interior of the continent. Libya has itself contributed in the form up of the Janjaweed Arab militias, whether officially or not as a good number of these militia fighters are drown from the nomadic Arab tribes of the southern Libyan deserts neighbouring the Sudan. Ghadafi is also trying to use his current position as the chairperson of the AU to promote impunity in the continent, when he called on all the 30 African countries to withdraw from the ICC. He (Ghadafi) must be in the middle of one of his many weird dreams of selling his green (unripe) ideas to the Africans while he has taken upon himself the right to think on their behaves, a role he failed to play in the Arab League.

While on the other hand, Al-Bashir is well known to have been in business with most of the radical leaders in the Middle East region since long . Thus the visit paid by the. Senior leaders of Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah to Khartoum just two days after the ICC‘s arrest warrant comes as no surprise. They were there to show their solidarity with al Bashir, while the dark skinned Muslims of Darfur, who are victims of the broader Arab conspiracy, are left to look beyond the Muslim world, possibly towards Israel and the western nations for their salvation.

However to the Sudanese northern Arabs, the Darfuri Sudanese are now viewed as direct threats to the seat of power in Khartoum and Omer al Bashir has made it no secret that if he is overthrown by these black Africans , then for sure that would mark the end of the Arab rule in the Sudan.

Al Bashir’s Indictment does not contradict the search for everlasting peace in the Sudan.

As the US President Barack Obama puts it,” all those who committed crimes in Darfur should face trial,” and I do agree with him. However it is very sad that some fluid politicians especially Africans, do still hold the view that the only way towards the realization of peace in Darfur and protecting the north – south CPA signed in 2005, is by protecting the victimizer, the perpetuator and the oppressor (al Bashir) from facing the ICC, instead of condemning and exposing him for his responsibility in the bloodbath in Darfur. It seems that some of us are mixing up things here.

I do not think that Khartoum intends to bring a just peace in Darfur, which can only be achieved by responding to the demands of the Darfuris that have been made clear to al Bashir’s government time and time again.

As for the CPA, again it is no surprise that al Bashir has resorted to implementing it in a rather sadistic way and with a high degree of arrogance. After four years since late Garang and Ali Osman Taha put their initials on the peace document, Omer al Bashir has attempted on more than one occasion to undermine some of the agreement’s protocols, which in fact shouldn’t be interpreted to be different from undermining the entire truce as all its protocols are interdependent, especially so in the sequence in which they are meant to be implemented and the time factor.

But yet with all these, he (al Bashir) is lucky enough to go unaccountable and still remains to enjoy a wide range of support inside these most indifferent and insensitive organizations like the AU, the Arab League and the Islamic Conference, a fact that these organizations are not in any genuine way concerned about the interests of the people of south Sudan, the Nuba Mountains, the southern Blue Nile and the Darfur region.

The Sudanese reactions to the arrest warrant

Sudanese from the different political spectra all over the world were very quick to react immediately following the ICC’s announcement of President al Bashir arrest warrant. Pro Darfuri groups came out and demonstrated in celebration of the arrest warrant in many parts of the world especially in Europe, Australia, Canada and America. While in Khartoum many of the pro-regime Sudanese on their part also came out in the streets of the capital city to condemn the arrest warrant, calling the ICC a white mans instrument of neo- colonialism.

However the real reaction and mass celebrations and jubilations are being seen amongst the IDP’s in Darfur and inside the refugee camps in the neighbouring Chad as expected. To these people, at last God has answered their prayers for the initiation and realization of justice. They know more than any one else what it means to have a bully finally named and shamed. They would want all those who inflicted harm on their women, their children and their men to be equally brought to book together with President Indicted Omer Hassan Ahmed al Bashir who continuous to dance while innocent women are being systematically raped in Darfur on daily basis.

It is true that any one who has lived under al Bashir’s Islamist regime for quite a time and suffered in the hands of its security apparatus, army, and loyal militia groups remains to believe that “ Justice is the only basis for a true and lasting Peace “. They know and understand that any peace deal not built on justice will remain to be a shaky peace as is the case with the CPA in the south. For them anyhow things will continue to get worse before ever getting any better. They will continue to count on God who never abandons the weak and the victimized.

Back in Khartoum, the demonstration will very soon cease and the Sudanese citizens who have lived under this same conditions for over two decades will go back to businesses as usual and it will be left for the government, UNSC and the ICC to sort out this mess.

For few weeks to come according to those who know him , al Bashir is expect to continue with his rhetoric and hysterical cult dances, but it is up to his party members to start thinking of the future of the party’s leadership. Many of those who are not willing to put up with the current situation would want a new leadership, but they have to maintain silence at this particular time otherwise they risk being labelled as the enemies within. It will be weeks and months for the effects of the arrest warrant to show up properly and as it begins to be felt in the governments day to day performance, then and only then that a change in the Sudanese politics can be expected.

What next after the ICC’s arrest warrant?

The way forward is for al Bashir and his government to recognize and cooperate with the ICC. The CPA must be implemented fully, in a timely manner and in good faith. The national elections must be held before the July 2009 deadline as stipulated in the Interim constitution.

Above all he (al Bashir) must accept his fate. And after being indicted on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Darfur it is time that he ends his political career by not running in the coming elections, while awaiting his ultimate fate at The Hague

However on a personal level want President al Bashir and his cronies brought to book for all the crimes his regime committed in south Sudan. I am conscious that many of my friends, relatives and countrymen will never be satisfied until they see him in The Hague, answering questions about the Juba Massacre June/ July 1992, where we all lost very dear brothers and friends whom we strongly believe that if they were still to be a live today, they could have made much difference.

I quote:

“I knew a lot of them personally. To me, they are not just 300 cases of “disappearances”, every name I read, I see the person who was my neighbour, my uncle, my brother, my sister, my father, my teacher, my model, my friend….and behind them I see the families they left behind, the orphans and the widows.” (Imatong, South Sudan website)

At this point in time, Khartoum is still at the peak of it’s disbelieve on the ICC issuance of the arrest warrant to al Bashir. But once indicted, always indicted. There shall come a day when these chaotic mob demonstrations will come to an end, the rhetoric will stop and a new dawn shall dawn over the Sudan. As we all await to see the dawn of an independent south Sudan and a free Darfur we are also looking forward to receive more indictments from the ICC in The Hague for the many other people who participated in the countless war crimes and crimes against humanity that were committed in other parts of the Sudan besides Darfur and are still at large. This time it must include crimes committed in south Sudan, the Nuba Mountains, the Southern Blue Nile region and the rest of the Sudan, for justice must be inclusive for it to be called justice.

Let us remember that, history has opened a new page, and after the 4th of MARCH 2009, THE SUDAN WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN. A simple message is that the above date should be respected and remembered for what it stands for and that is “justice for all, no one is above the law how powerful they are and the beginning to the end of impunity, first in Darfur then world wide has started.”

The author of this is article is a South Sudanese doctor living in the UK and can be reached at: [email protected].